Kulfi's Profile

FWIW, i bought 2 Tramontina pots this week from Costco: a 5 qt saute pan and an 8 qt multi cooker ( pot with pasta insert, steamer basket and SS lid). Both are made in Brazil. These are fully clad, not disk bottom.

I too bought my first piece of copper cookware recently: a Bourgeat saute pan. My pan has similar marks as well. From reading copper threads here, I learned that Bourgeat makes cookware primarily for restaurants, and the pans are not finished flawlessly. Surprisingly, the one I got had fewer blemishes than I expected. It is a thing of beauty and exudes quality.

After reading many copper threads over a year, I finally caved and bought a Bourgeat 2.75 quart 9.5 inch flared saute pan (listed as evasee at Broadway Panhandler) recently. Considering the expense, I don't think I can afford more copper cookware. Is this a good size and shape for a first (and likely only) copper cookware? (I have plenty of LC, and AC).

Any advice on use and care would also be helpful.

I cook daily for a family of 3 and we don't need large amounts of leftovers.

Indian pressure cookers intermittently release steam, also known as whistles. Does your pressure cooker do that?If not, once the cooker has reached maximum pressure, lower the temperature and cook for about 10 minutes or so. Check for doneness after the pressure dies down, and repeat as necessary to get desired stage of doneness.

I cook presoaked beans with a few cloves of garlic and bay leaves. Other good choices are an onion studded with a few cloves. The aromatic vegetables and spices will provide only a hint of flavor in the final dish, nothing overwhelming.

Indian food can be cooked easily with the appliances available here. You can get by with a mini-processor/blender and a coffee grinder.

1) a food processor yields a coarse paste of onions, garlic and ginger. Using a blender will result in a fine paste. Add as little water as possible for best results. The food processor does not allow spices to be fine-ground.

2) Use a coffee grinder to powder whole spices. Some recipes will call for a coarse powder, others for a fine powder. Adjust grind time accordingly.

2) if you have a powerful blender like the Vitamix, you can make both fine and coarse powders and pastes with it. IMO the Vitamix closely approximates Indian blenders/food processors ( called mixies).

Whole spices last indefinitely. Store them in the freezer to maintain freshness.

The cinnamon and bay leaves available in Indian stores are different. Cinnamon bark is used in savory dishes in Indian cooking. The curly cinnamon found in the grocery store is better suited for sweet dishes IMO.

The advice to buy spices from Indian stores is a good one. They are cheaper and fresher because the spices are in high demand and stock is constantly being replenished.

The chutney you refer to is a variation of the coconut chutney above. You can add cilantro (hence the green color), shallots or a clove of garlic to the basic coconut chutney recipe for new dimensions.

I am South Indian and in my hometown of Chennai, the tomato-onion chutney is a common accompaniement to dosais and idlis.

There are endless variations to the tomato-onion chutney as well, but I didn't know if OP wanted to run out and buy a host of new ingredients for a side dish.

It would surprise me if good friends asked me if I wanted my Glad/ Ziploc containers back. It would not matter to me either way. I would put the food in something like Pyrex portables if I clearly wanted them back.

At this point I don't remember who brought what, not surprising considering I had the flu.

I doubt I'm going to lose friendships over this, but I guess what I was really asking is "Are these considered disposable?" No real consensus on this.

Had the flu recently, and friends dropped off some food. In the cheaper ziploc or glad plastic containers, not the more expensive Rubbermaid containers. Really appreciate the gesture, but here's my dilemma: should I

1) keep track of who brought which containers, and return them to the rightful owners,

2) toss them, or

3) buy a new set for each friend, so that they are not short of containers?

Actually, I have this problem when I try to brown onions for about 20 minutes, which is not long enough to caramelize them.

I use my largest 17000 btu gas burner at medium heat for browning onions in LC. Since some bits get burnt, I'm afraid to crank up the heat any higher. But the lack of uniform browning is disappointing.

I recently invested in some LC pieces and am trying to get the hang of this cookware.

I can't get onions to brown evenly when using the LC braiser and DO. Some bits burn and others remain undercooked even if I continually stir them. I get uniform browning when I use my Kirkland SS saute pan. I do preheat both pans before adding the onions. So how can I get better results in my LC? Thanks for reading my first post.